Beyond Blessed

Never forget how blessed you are. Never forget how much you have to give. Don't feel guilty for the circumstances you have been born into, don't belittle the struggles you face. But never forget. Put your problems in perspective. We constantly have money struggles- the car is having problems, student loans need to be paid, groceries are costly- but in reality, if you are reading this, you are probably in the top 8% of the world's wealthiest people. Your basic needs are provided for. That in itself is pretty amazing. Don't lose yourself in "rich people" problems...it's all too easy. When we recognize this epidemic, and realize the absurdity of the things we spend our time worrying over....well, it all seems pretty silly. You are BEYOND blessed...let's live in gratitude for ALL that God has given us and live with a generous spirit. Because the truth is....

It's Not Ours.

None of it. The money, the wealth, the job, the income, the opportunities. 

We only have what God has chosen to give us. It is HIS. All of it. Yes, there are many people who work hard for what we have. And that is commendable. But still... we would never even have that opportunity if it weren't for the circumstances God has placed us in -Right? 

...and I have a feeling He didn't give us wealth to hoard it. To simply enjoy it. He trusts you with much so that you can give much. Whether you can give $5 or $500 dollars, your time, your gifts, your talents...stop holding back the things you were never meant to keep to yourself. 

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:20)

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God (2 Corinthians 9:11). 

Command those who are rich ... to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand (1 Chronicles 29:14)

One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty (Proverbs 11:24)

A Map Marred with Hate

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

-Galatians 3:28

Racism. 

This may seem like a weird, uncomfortable, controversial topic.

....and you would be right.

But I can't get this off my heart, off my mind. I just can't let this issue go. In writing this, I am well aware that most people will not agree with me. People may dismiss what I have to say because I am a middle class white girl. People may dismiss it because we have, after all, moved past slavery. We have revoked laws that have historically separated races, namely Caucasians and African Americans. It is becoming more common to date and marry outside of our race (less than 1% of marriages in America, but hey, progress is progress). And most people nowadays would say that they don't hold racist ideologies, and that we have moved past this dark part of our history. Stop beating the dead horse. Talking about racism only keeps it alive...when in fact, its become quite irrelevant. Younger generations do not show these racist tendencies. In the past, I would have agreed with this statement.

Now, I'm not so sure. 

In order to love completely and fully with the love of Christ- we must recognize our biases. Our tendency to show partiality, something that James 2 goes to lengths to warn us about. To recognize struggles of those we might no longer consider oppressed. And most importantly, to put ourselves in check. To realize how we contribute to the age of "new racism." To be aware of our actions, the stereotypical images presented in the media (ex. the "Bachelor" as the representation of white dating, "Flavor of Love" as the representation of AA dating), of the jokes we make, of our ways of thinking. 

It's not wrong to recognize color, to recognize our differences. Those differences are beautiful. They make us unique. It would be rather silly to claim that we are "color-blind," when clearly we don't all look the same. But when we start categorizing people, referring to people by their race, or as a "them," or saying things like "you know how (insert race here) people are." How crazy is it to assume that every individual in a group of people is the same? We rebel against being stereotyped, generalized, grouped.... and yet we do it to people all the time. I hear it out of the mouths of people I know to be people with good hearts, who would never intentionally treat someone differently because of their race. I have also heard people speak in a way that's intentionally degrading to someone with a different skin color. Regardless-whether subtle or blatant- with our words, and our thinking, we keep racism alive. Even when were "just kidding." Refusing to talk about it does not make it go away. And when you really examine the history of slavery and racism in America, the images that were intentionally perpetuated to separate the races, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how these play out today.

This article gives a reality check about "white privilege" in America. It gives a list of things that in a white world, we completely take for granted. It lists things that we never have to consider or worry about- things that never occurred to me until I read this. It's by no means a guilt trip....but definitely a dose of reality. http://nymbp.org/reference/WhitePrivilege.pdf

This is another site I highly encourage every person to look at. When I saw this about a year ago, it shook me. This map details all the different racist hate groups that are still alive in our nation today- from the KKK to neo-nazis to self appointed minute men dedicated to "taking care" of "those" people trying to cross the border- even to the point of murder.Yes, these groups still exist. When I saw this map, I was floored. There is a group in my own hometown. Groups formed solely on a foundation of hatred...

http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/hate-map

a HATE map. A nation- an advanced, industrialized, jim crow law and slavery free land- marred by hate. This should not be. 

Racism is not dead. 

Tears of the Saints

UPDATE ON SON OF GOD ORPHANAGE- In an uncharacteristic move by the Haitian government, the orphanage has been shut down, and UNICEF has taken all the children to new homes. Amazing!!! Thanks to everyone who signed the petition and got the word out! Read the whole story here:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/haiti-closes-orphanage-child-neglect-14788210

So for today...I saw this video a few weeks ago, and it struck me as one of the most challenging and profound things I have ever seen. And it is only a glimpse of the brokenness we have chosen not to see, or have never had the opportunity to see. The reality of what God has called us to becomes very real when watching this. It is not a game, its not words in a book, its not a metaphor- it is God's commissioning for His sons and daughters to spread His light to the nations.

I realize that this may not be easy to watch. But in order to be moved to any kind of action, in order for God to break our hearts for what breaks His, we have to open our eyes. We are an easily distracted people. But the reality of the countless people who need to be loved is one of the greatest realities there is.

"Having seen all this you can choose to look the other way; but you can never say again, 'I did not know.'
-William Wilberforce


IN THE PAST HOUR:
1625 children were forced to live on the streets
1667 children died from malnutrition or disease
115 children became prostitutes
257 children were orphaned because of HIV/Aids.

It gets worse...
2 billion people in the world today have never ever heard of Jesus. 1% of missions financial support, goes to reaching those unreached people. 30000 people starve to death every day.

'You are the light of the world' –– Jesus talking to his disciples.

Are we being the 'salt and light' that we are called to be?

How to Make a Difference...Now. *Urgent Need!!!*

Often, when we hear about some of the atrocious things going on in our world, its difficult to know what we can do to make an immediate difference. 

Today, I want to present an opportunity to do just that. Get involved now!!! A well recognized mission agency, AIM (adventures in missions) has been investigating foul play and trafficking in the Son Of God orphanage located in Haiti, where many AIM affiliates and staff have worked. AIM staff have been investigating for the past year, and have now gathered the facts they need to go to the media and try to expose this horrible injustice.

Quotes from the blog of Seth Barnes Jr., an AIM staff who worked in this orphanage last summer:

The situation at the orphanage is an EMERGENCY right now as kids are sick and dying and still disappearing. We're trying to mobilize any connections in politics and media to expose the corruption and put an end to it. The lead investigator, said we "hit the jackpot of corruption."

What we've discovered:
• Food gets donated to SOG orphanage, but disappears very quickly, while children remain malnourished.
• Reports by the children of physical abuse by orphanage workers.
• Reports by the children of sexual abuse by orphanage workers.• Clothing when donated, instead of going to orphans, gets sold.
• Dozens of children have disappeared.

Another report about Katia illustrates the urgency we feel:
One five year-old girl, Katia was in the worst condition I have seen of any of the kids. A couple of months ago she had mumps from head to toe; a month later she was in a body cast that covered her from her waist to her feet. When he found her on Saturday she had an extremely high fever and like all of the other children - horrible skin conditions. She was lying on a bench and someone moved a bench towards her but she didn't have the energy to move out of the way. She has lost most of her weight and she couldn't even lift her head. After pleading with the "caretakers" of the orphanage, they released her to let us take her to a local medical clinic.

The doctor at the clinic examined her and determined that the infections are destroying her; she is nearing death. She only weighed 14 pounds. He told us that if she doesn't get proper care right away she will die of infections and malnutrition. He gave us a prescription and orders to give her a high protein drink and medicine three times a day for the next two weeks.

Recent reports indicate Katia now weighs a mere 11 pounds.

To read the rest of the blog, go here: http://sethbarnesjr.theworldrace.org/?filename=help-stop-child-trafficking-in-haiti

How you can help:
-Sign this petition to get CNN to cover the story! The more light we can bring to this situation the better!

http://www.change.org/petitions/the-freedom-project-expose-human-trafficking-at-son-of-god-orphanage-in-haiti

-Use twitter (#cnnfreedom, #endslavery, #not_for_sale) facebook, or any other social media to share this story and this petition!

-PRAY.

-Stay updated!! In a short amount of time, many steps have already been taken towards bringing light to this situation. Praise the Lord!

Who Cares?

I am a college student at a major public university. Needless to say, this is a place where awareness on world and local social justice issues is pretty easy to come across. Nearly every day as I walk to class I'm accosted with fliers, megaphones, posters, tables, people... and to be truthful, there are many times when this is just plain frustrating. Not that these issues aren't important...but cmon. I'm busy. I'm (most likely) late to class. And not to mention I'm already involved in a million different things. It's not like I have money either...I'm a poor college student for crying out loud. Or scenario number two....social justice on a more personal level. A homeless man asks me for some change. Also a pretty regular occurrence in the town I live in. Yeah, its sad he's homeless...but often, the same feelings overtake me. Im busy, late, annoyed, and lets be honest....he's probably going to use that money to buy liquor or cigarettes. I'm not saying these aren't legitimate thought processes.

I'm just saying it's all too easy not to care. 

Especially when many injustices seem a world away. Child soldiers in Uganda. Poverty. Genocides in Rwanda. Modern day slavery. Natural disasters. AIDS. Starvation. Racism. Sex Tourism. The list goes on. 

For some reason we've either adopted the thinking that we can't do anything, or its better to live in blissful ignorance than in hopelessness. Why be sad, why be distraught over something that we really can't do anything about? What a futile effort. Why feel guilty and ashamed that my circumstances are better than someone in a third world country? What unnecessary pain. It's not my fault. I've observed that often, when topics like this are brought up, people get uncomfortable. Defensive. Irritated that someone has the audacity to remind them not to waste their food when orphans are starving in Africa.

This might be an offensive stance to many. But I strongly believe we all need to be made a little uncomfortable sometimes. We all need to be offended. When we look at God's heart for justice, I have a hard time believing that He is telling us it's fine not to care. It's fine to feel the appropriate emotions when we see the sad news report or hear a sermon at church... and then move on. It's fine to live in our safe little bubble and let the world take care of its own problems. It's not like my prayers, my involvement, or my few dollars can make a tremendous difference.

This is a lie. 

Too often we are the priest that walks on the other side of the road, away from the broken man. (Luke 10:25-37) Im not trying to say that the priest was a bad person, or that God didn't love him. But he missed out on so much. He completely missed the chance to be a part of God's story, to live out the things that he claimed to believe. I desire to be the Samaritan...and way too often I am the priest. I walk by and move on with my life. I show no compassion. No love.

For me, this journey started with this prayer:

Break my heart for what breaks Yours.

....And He did.

Then He called me.

Will you dare to love this world? The broken? The lost? The mistreated?

It may hurt at times. It may be heart wrenching. It may take us out of our comfort zone. Occupy our time. Compromise our security. Make us surrender our finances. Force us to open up our hearts. Bring us to our knees in prayer. Heaven forbid...He may call us to actually GO to the nations!

But in the midst of this process of caring...of loving....we come alive. We figure out who we were made to be, what we were called to do. We become a part of God's story.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

-Micah 6:8

And for those of you wondering why I decided to call this blog about social justice issues "dare to love"... I knew that I wanted to discuss issues of social justice, and God's heart for these issues. But every title seemed...kind of wordy and not really capturing what I wanted to communicate. Then I looked up, on my wall, at a picture a friend of mine painted- and it became very evident. This is NOT a blog detailing the injustices of our world....this is God's call for us to love the world. A dare to love.